Are any of you fine folks from there or near there?
Do you or have you lived there?
Please tell me about the area. I know there is good and bad. Looking for overall impressions, quality of living, schools, suburbs, leisure, etc.
Thanks for any info!
I’m from the Left Coast, so I have no real experience in VA, but I do know that there wasn’t much left after Grant and Stonewall Jackson burnt it to the ground.
not sure if they ever rebuilt.
does this help?
Lived there for 5 years or so. The Western suburbs of Glen Allen to the North and Midlothian to the South are both pretty typical “nice suburb” areas. Short Pump to the west is the nouveau riche modern plastic suburban hell where a t-shirt will cost you $60. The downtown area of the city is fairly small, but nice enough with a cool system of parks along the James River. The Fan is a European style neighborhood within the city that houses some AMAZING restaurants.
I wouldn’t advise living there, though, as it’s a bitch to park and you’ll be surrounded by college students. The Near West end is a mish-mash of the Fan and Glen Allen, it’s not bad, but not too interesting either. South of the River is mostly ghetto, The northeast end of town is fairly ghetto with a Nascar track thrown in the middle. I loved Richmond myself, I lived mostly in Glen Allen, which made for quick access to the interstates into the city (10 mins) or to get out of town since I traveled a lot. Richmond’s universities, esp.
VCU, house big art departments, so the town has a very hip/hipster vibe when you mingle with the younger crowd. I wouldn’t say it’s obnoxious, though. Schools are much, much better in the suburbs. Let me know what else you’re looking for.
Rhett and Scarlett barely escaped with their lives.
but they did live, cause after all…
tomorrow is another day~
…
Fwiw I am in Knoxville now and I liked Richmond more. Richmond, for me, had the faster East Coast life with a small city feel where Knox is a slow town that happens to have a major university.
Lived there for 13 years, mostly in the fan and near west end. BossKean broke it down pretty good. If you’re looking to move in I would recommend the near west end, it’s convenient to everywhere good and if I could afford to live there anyone can.
Edgy don’t you dare say anything bad about Jackson!
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Are any of you fine folks from there or near there?
Do you or have you lived there?
Please tell me about the area. I know there is good and bad. Looking for overall impressions, quality of living, schools, suburbs, leisure, etc.
Thanks for any info![/quote]
We’re considering moving to VA. Not sure exactly where yet.
Will wait til this thread fills with info.
ID are you looking at any particular places? I have lived on both ends of the state and traveled extensively through all of it.
[quote]BossKean wrote:
ID are you looking at any particular places? I have lived on both ends of the state and traveled extensively through all of it.[/quote]
Not necessarily. We have some friends in Newport News, but we want to live relatively close to MD (my son will probably be living in Baltimore soon).
Thanks! I’ll contact you when I discuss it further with my wife.
[quote]BossKean wrote:
Fwiw I am in Knoxville now and I liked Richmond more. Richmond, for me, had the faster East Coast life with a small city feel where Knox is a slow town that happens to have a major university.[/quote]
I love Knoxville. I go there for work quite a bit. I would move there in a second if I could find full time work there.
What’s with all the damn yankees coming down here anyway? Around my way it’s thanks to the Falwells, but as for the rest of the state…?
[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:
What’s with all the damn yankees coming down here anyway? Around my way it’s thanks to the Falwells, but as for the rest of the state…? [/quote]
My reasons for moving south?
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I presently live in Jersey (THAT should be reason enough).
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Cost of living is less in the south (property taxes are WAY lower).
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Milder weather in the south.
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More unspoiled landscape in the south.
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A bit closer to our fave vacation destination - the Caribbean.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]BossKean wrote:
Fwiw I am in Knoxville now and I liked Richmond more. Richmond, for me, had the faster East Coast life with a small city feel where Knox is a slow town that happens to have a major university.[/quote]
I love Knoxville. I go there for work quite a bit. I would move there in a second if I could find full time work there.[/quote]
Reading my statement again, it seems like I despise Knoxville. That isn’t the case, Knoxville is a good place to be, I just prefer Richmond. Richmond feels at times like a bigger city than it is. Knoxville feels like the smaller city that it is.
Of course changes in my life (marriage, kiddo) have played a large role in my feelings here. Stepping outside of my personal experience as much as possible, I would still state that RVA feels like a little bit bigger city than Knoxville, but they probably have more shared characteristics than differences. The biggest difference being race/ethnicity demographics with RVA being more diverse.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:
What’s with all the damn yankees coming down here anyway? Around my way it’s thanks to the Falwells, but as for the rest of the state…? [/quote]
My reasons for moving south?
-
I presently live in Jersey (THAT should be reason enough).
-
Cost of living is less in the south (property taxes are WAY lower).
-
Milder weather in the south.
-
More unspoiled landscape in the south.
-
A bit closer to our fave vacation destination - the Caribbean.
[/quote]
Cool. A friend of mine works in an autobody shop and hates to see the yankee college kids leave for the summer because all his business dries up.
Where abouts in VA are you thinking about moving to?